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Texas Tech's special teams put up good stats in 2011. The Red Raiders ranked
second in the Big 12 in net punting, fifth in kickoff return yardage, punter
Ryan Erxleben put up the best numbers of his career and Donnie
Carona connected on 14-of-16 field goal attempts inside the 50-yard line.

Those stats don't tell the whole story, however. Losses to Kansas State and
Texas A&M can directly be linked to special teams failures -- two blocked field
goals, one returned for a touchdown, and a kickoff return for a touchdown. Two
Keystone Kops-like mistakes against Oklahoma State -- a fumbled punt return in
the first quarter and a fumbled kickoff return in the second -- helped the
Cowboys put the game out of reach by halftime. In the season's second-to-last
week, a coverage gaffe in the second half against Missouri kept the Tigers in
the game and helped them cut Tech's lead to three.

If the Red Raiders are going to return to the postseason, those kinds of
mistakes simply cannot happen.

POSITION VITALS

Texas Tech's specialists were above average to good
in 2011, but mistakes at critical points by coverage and protection
units marred the team's overall special teams performance.
The Red Raiders should be better on that side of the ball in 2012, but
the real test will be whether or not the special teams units can avoid
the kind of back-breaking and game-altering gaffes that have plagued the
team for the last two seasons.

• Texas Tech's punt coverage unit was excellent last
season. The Red Raiders ranked second in the Big 12 in this category,
netting 38.02 yards per punt.

• The Red Raiders also ranked in the top half of the conference in
kickoff return yardage, averaging 22.02 yards per return.

• Ryan Erxleben averaged 41.68 yards per punt last season, which is the
highest for any Tech punter since Jonathan LaCour averaged 42.62 yards
per kick in 2007. LaCour only punted 29 times that season, though,
compared to Erxleben's 57 attempts in 2011.

BATTLE TO WATCH

There really won't be any legitimate position
battles on the special teams units when fall camp opens. Placekicker Ryan Bustin was
very impressive in the spring and punter Ryan Erxleben is coming off of a very
solid sophomore season. Alex Chester will be the team's new deep
snapper,
Austin Zouzalik should retain his punt returner job and
Bradley Marquez and Javares McRoy have been penciled in at kick return for some
time.

What sticks out about those critical mistakes is that most were largely
due to ancillary failures, not errors from the roles that immediately come to
mind when one thinks of special teams -- placekicker, punter, deep snapper.

"This year with more depth we'll be better, we'll have better kickoff coverage
teams," he said. "We gave up a couple of kickoffs for a touchdown last year that
really set us back. As you said, we had field goals blocked with backup
offensive linemen in the game that were true freshmen that needed to be over
there watching instead of playing.

"But we're growing up. We're getting a little more depth. We're getting to a
position now where we're a little bit more selective on who plays, and normally
it won't be a first-year guy. It's going to be a guy that's been out there and
done that and learned the hard way sometimes and gotten good experience."

If the protection and coverage units can avoid key mistakes, the Red Raiders'
special teams units should be much improved in 2012.

Erxleben returns for his third season as Tech's starting punter after putting up
solid numbers as a sophomore in 2011. The Lake Travis product averaged 41.68
yards per punt last year -- the best mark for a Red Raider punter since 2007 --
and helped the team finish the season ranked second in the conference in net
punting.

Ryan Bustin, Carona's replacement at placekicker, was one of the
biggest surprises of the spring. For the first three or four weeks of practices,
he simply did not miss.

"I'm not going to jinx him," Tuberville said two weeks into spring practice.
"I'm not going to say anything. He's doing good. He's only missed one -- knock
on wood -- in about 40 kicks. I don't think he got a real good hold on that one
(that he missed)."

Bustin transferred to Tech last year after spending the 2010 season at Kilgore
College, where he pulled double duty as the team's placekicker and punter.
During his time at Kilgore, Bustin was perfect on PATs and converted 13 field
goal attempts.

Alex Chester will assume the primary deep snapper role for the Red
Raiders this fall after backing up Jesse Smitherman last year.

NEW FACES: The only newcomer on Tech's special teams roster is
deep snapper Trent Williams, a transfer from Blinn College.

PRESSURE IS ON: Ryan Bustin. The Kilgore College transfer was
extremely impressive during the spring, displaying both excellent accuracy and
surprising leg strength. Bustin set the bar pretty high, and now he'll have to
shoulder the burden of expectations.

BIGGEST QUESTION: Can Bustin duplicate or come close to
duplicating his spring performance? Having an automatic three points on the
sideline will make things easier from a playcalling perspective on Tuberville
and offensive coordinator
Neal Brown.

PRE-CAMP DEPTH CHART

The Red Raiders' specialist depth chart
lacks any real intrigue. Ryan Bustin will be the team's placekicker,
Ryan Erxleben will be the punter, Kramer Fyfe will be the kickoff
specialist and Alex Chester will handle snaps. There really aren't that
many questions about the return game (not listed) either, as Austin Zouzalik is expected to return punts for the third-straight season
and Bradley Marquez and Javares McRoy are penciled in
to return kicks.